(UND Athletics/Russell Hons)
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND Athletics)– Jake Schmaltz scored 2:03 into the 3-on-3 overtime session to give No. 16/18 North Dakota a 4-3 win and a weekend sweep over No. 9 St. Cloud State on Saturday night at a sold-out Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
The winner propels UND (11-7-1, 6-2-0 NCHC) into sole possession of second place in the NCHC standings with 17 points and sends the Fighting Hawks into the holiday break with a 6-1-1 record over the last eight games.
NoDak was in comeback mode the entire contest, having to battle back from a trio of one-goal deficits, but Schmaltz sealed the win for the hosts with his first OT goal of his career off a great feed from Dylan James to secure the first sweep over St. Cloud State since Nov. 2019.
Graduate student goaltender T.J. Semptimphelter put together another strong outing between the pipes in the win, finishing with 23 saves on 26 shots against to notch his fourth straight victory. The Marlton, N.J., native was at his best in the extra session, stopping a trio of St. Cloud State (10-7-0, 4-4-0 NCHC), including a pair of breakaways.
St. Cloud State broke through for its first goal of the weekend just beyond the midway point of the first period, as Grant Achan potted a shorthanded goal to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Much like Friday night, UND put together a strong middle frame and eventually knotted the contest at 1-1 when Jayden Perron danced around his defender and tucked a backhander past the goaltender for his sixth goal of the season, but the Huskies answered back with a power play tally from Austin Burnevik to restore the lead for the visitors.
Late in the second, Abram Wiebe made it back-to-back weekends with a power play goal when the sophomore wired home his fourth of the year in the final 110 seconds of the stanza to even the contest heading into the third.
SCSU grabbed its third lead of the night early in the third, when Barrett Hall finished off a 2-on-1 rush, but the Fighting Hawks responded again when Caleb MacDonald worked himself free and found Sacha Boisvert alone in the slot for the freshman’s eighth of the season to knot the contest at 3-3.
UND nearly won the game in regulation, but the contest headed to overtime tied at 3-3. After a trio of big stops from Semptimphelter, Schmaltz won the contest with his first overtime winner of his career to secure the victory and the series sweep.
North Dakota will enjoy a break before opening 2025 in an exhibition contest against Manitoba on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 6:07 p.m. from the Ralph.
Postgame Notes
- Louis Jamernik V returned to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 22 vs. Robert Morris
- UND improves to 83-49-18 all-time against St. Cloud State and 43-19-9 in Grand Forks
- The Hawks notched their first sweep over SCSU since Nov. 2019
- Jake Schmaltz recorded his first OT winner of his career
- UND improves to 2-0-1 this season in overtime
- The Hawks are on a four-game unbeaten streak against SCSU, the longest in over a decade
- Jayden Jubenvill recorded his first point of his career with an assist
- T.J. Semptimphelter finished with 23 saves on 26 shots
- UND now has a 8-2 advantage in the third period over the last seven games
- The Hawks were 1-for-4 on the power play while SCSU was 1-for-2
- Sacha Boisvert has 10 points over the last nine games
- The freshman also takes the team lead with eight goals
- UND improves to 2-6-1 this season when the opponent scores first
- The Hawks improve to 5-3-0 this year in games decided by one goal
- Shots were 38-26 in favor UND, with Boisvert leading everyone with eight shots on goal
- Owen McLaughlin notched an assist to give him six points over his last six games
- UND blocked 10 shots to improve to 10-3-1 this season when blocking double digits
- Faceoffs were 36-29 UND, with Carter Wilkie pacing everyone at 14-8
How It Happened
First Period
11:42 | SCSU – Grant Achan (4, SH)
Second Period
07:19 | UND – Jayden Perron (6) from Owen McLaughlin (12) and Jayden Jubenvill (1)
16:06 | SCSU – Austin Burnevik (9, PP) from Tyson Gross (5) and Barrett Hall (12)
18:06 | UND – Abram Wiebe (4, PP) from Mac Swanson (9) and Dylan James (3)
Third Period
01:38 | SCSU – Hall (3) from Burnevik (7) and Verner Miettinen (8)
07:56 | UND – Sacha Boisvert (8) from Caleb MacDonald (3) and James (4)
Overtime
02:03 | UND – Jake Schmaltz (3) from James (5) and Wiebe (10)
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | 12/14/2024 11:32:00 PM | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com
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